Michael Kownacky

The source material for this week’s Sunday Opera (3/29 3:00 p.m.) has been used in well over 70 different projects. In the past, we heard one treatment by Giovanni Simone Mayr in his opera “Ginevra di Scozia,” but this time, we’re turning to one of Handel’s “Italian operas” that he wrote for London in 1735, “Ariodante.” Our recording comes from 1978 and features a stellar cast in this opera that is a tale of love, betrayal, and redemption, and it explores themes of jealousy, deception, and the triumph of good over evil.

Since we're running out of "March," this week's Dress Circle (3/29 7:00 p.m.) is our last one celebrating Women's History Month, and we're turning to Broadway Anthems specifically written for female characters from twelve shows.

We’re turning to a 19th century opera from the British Isles, and it’s not by Gilbert and Sullivan, on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/22 3:00 p.m.).This time, it’s by Irish composer William Vincent Wallace, and it’s the story of the water Nymph Lurline and her love for the mortal Count Rupert.

We're continuing with our celebration of Women's History Month on this week’s Dress Circle (3/22 7:00 p.m.), and this time, we're looking at some of the female lyricists who added their talents to thirteen musicals.

Desire versus reality on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/15 3:00 p.m.) as we look to a 1938 work by Bohuslav Martinu that was based on a French surrealist play by Georges Neveux entitled “Juliette, or the Key of Dreams.” “Julietta” is the object of desire of a travelling bookseller, and he travels to the world of dreams to find her, even though he’s never seen her. He’s just heard her singing.

There are many celebrations in the month of March such as National Noodle Month, National Flour Month, and National Frozen Food Month. However, we like to celebrate another aspect of March as National Women’s History Month. With that said, this week’s Dress Circle (3/15 7:00 p.m.) is dedicated to fourteen of the women who have composed scores for some on and off-Broadway musicals.

Albert Lortzing is probably best known for his opera “Zar und Zimmermann,” so we’ll be showcasing two others on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/8 3:00 p.m.): "Der Wildschutz" and "Der Opernprobe."

So much is being said about cross-dressing and drag now that we thought we’d take a look at how musicals have looked at this aspect of theatre on this week’s Dress Circle (4/16 7:00 p.m.). Men portraying women on stage were a major part of Greek and Roman theatre as well as early European theatre mainly because women weren’t allowed to appear on stage. However, once that taboo was overturned, women often portrayed men, especially in operas and British Pantomimes.

Welcome to March! Will it be windy? …rainy? …snowy? Well, on this week’s Dress Circle (3/1 7:00 p.m.), we know it’s going to be musical as we look at ten shows that opened in New York this month through their overtures and scene-setting opening numbers.

Some composers, like Paul Dukas, are best known for one or two specific works, and on this week’s Sunday Opera (2/22 3:00 p.m.), we’re going to change that when we look at his only surviving opera “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue.” The extremely self-deprecating Dukas destroyed his other three operas, so we’re lucky to have this delightful version of the Charles Perrault fairytale.